FEMA has been working with the state and local counties to update floodplain maps, including for Missoula County, which should get a new draft map in the next year.
Most of the current maps are based on hand-measured, decades-old data.
While the new maps will be more accurate for predicting future floods, the changes will inevitably move some residents into the floodplain. That affects their insurance and home values.
A group of landowners in western Montana recently urged Missoula County to cut ties with FEMA because of a new floodplain map. County commissioners countered that doing so would deny people insurance and cost the county millions of dollars.
The residents also criticized a separate, Missoula County -specific project that created zoning restrictions within parts of the Missoula Valley floodplain in 2022.
Citizen complaints
The group, known as " Jeff Patterson and Citizens Against Regulation," told Missoula County commissioners at a May meeting that the new government regulations violate private property rights.
Jeff Patterson, the leader of the group, lives on a piece of un-zoned property near Turah. He said the recent draft floodplain map done by FEMA placed his property in the floodplain, which he said hurts his quality of life.
He said the new floodplain will require him to pay more for insurance, conform to additional regulations, and decrease the value of his home.
Patterson also criticized radar technology that FEMA uses to create the new maps, which he argues incorrectly placed his property within the floodplain.
"Why are we being added to the floodplain when it makes no sense?" Patterson said at the meeting. "If you put somebody on a floodplain and their house is mortgaged, they're forced to have FEMA flood insurance."
The group is made up of residents from Missoula and Mineral counties. While half a dozen members attended the meeting, Patterson would not say how many people are involved.
One member of the group is House District 97 State Rep. Lyn Hellegaard. When asked for her position on the issue, she told the Missoulian "I need to do my homework." Hellegaard is currently running for House District 89.
During the meeting last week with the county commissioners, Patterson said he believes the new floodplain and regulations by FEMA are an "illegal take," by the government to seize his land without due process.
"These are regulations that are not acceptable, they are excessive," Patterson said. "The Supreme Court said when regulations become excessive, they are taking, and taking is a violation of our Fifth and 14th amendment rights."
Other residents at the meeting brought concerns of the new Missoula County -specific regulations. One couple from Turah said they were unsure what the new county codes would make them do. Their land is mostly on a steep mountainside.
The county does regulate steep slopes, but only within the Missoula Valley, said Karen Hughes, the county director of Planning, Development and Sustainability. Those regulations do not extend beyond the valley, where land is largely unzoned.
Patterson and the members of his group say they want the county to sever ties with FEMA.
"You are selling out our private rights, our constitutional rights to own property, for benefits from FEMA," Patterson said, referring to the increased burden of being placed in the floodplain.
He said the last resort to the issue might be legal action against the county.
Remapping in works
The last time FEMA has updated the floodplain for the lower Clark Fork watershed was in 2015 and 2016, state information shows. That update focused on digitizing data that was collected in 1984.
Since 2020, FEMA has contracted the state Department of Natural Resources and Conservation to study of area waterways using both hand measurements and radar technology called lidar. Lidar has been used by engineers and mappers for more than 50 years.
In 2023, a final draft of the new floodplain from the DNRC circulated to residents in Mineral County. Missoula County residents saw a provisional draft late last year, and a more conclusive map is under development.
Mike Day, an engineer for the private firm WGM Group, told the Missoulian that floodplain regulations are complex and often leave people frustrated over new land restrictions. But he added updating the floodplain maps is necessary to catch up with changing river conditions and to protect people's safety.
FEMA floodplain regulations were first passed as an act of Congress in 1974, and later amended in 1988. The regulations created a system where people in the floodplain are required to be insured, Day said.
"The basis of the floodplain was that there were so many flooding-related disasters happening then," Day said. "They ended up saying 'why don't we make those people who are most affected responsible.'"
Day said Montana specifically is behind schedule on updating its floodplain maps. The reason is twofold: there are too many water bodies to constantly track, and Montana's flooding is irregular.
"It's extremely time-consuming and expensive," Day said. "Many areas are more approximate estimates. There are a lot of triggers for more studying, like a natural disaster, population growth or a lot of claims of flooding."
Commissioners respond
The commissioners pushed back against Patterson, telling the group that the county has no control over the floodplain set by FEMA, and if it did go against FEMA, the area would lose millions in federal funding.
Under federal law, FEMA oversees the floodplain and contracts with the local governments to collect data for the project. However, the local governments do not create the final results.
The county did approve separate zoning just within the Missoula Valley that is more restrictive than FEMA, which is allowed under federal law.
But cutting ties with FEMA would make the county ineligible for most federal grants and cut federally backed loans for people within the floodplain, according to the county's Chief Administrative Officer Chris Lounsbury.
For example, the county would be ineligible for a $4.8 million grant for wildfire fuels reduction, Lounsbury said. Other grants supplement the county's Office of Emergency Management and the City-County Health Department.
Becoming "noncompliant" with FEMA's rules would also increase flood insurance rates for all residents within Missoula County, Lounsbury said at the meeting. That would bar people from obtaining a federally backed home loan.
"I think it is safe to say it is a nonstarter that we would not adopt the floodplain maps," County Commissioner Dave Strohmaier said at the meeting.
Strohmaier said the appeals process for the floodplain, which is one of the final steps before the map is finalized, would be the best option for residents who worry they might be wrongly placed into the floodplain.
As for the Missoula -specific zoning, commissioners clarified that the new zoning passed by the county does not affect outlying communities within the county, like Seeley Lake, the Ninemile and Turah.
County Commissioner Josh Slotnick said at the meeting that the county process for changing regulations for landowners has been well communicated, and hundreds of public comments have been taken into consideration.
"I feel really good about it, because in the end we had people in public hearings who had long-standing opposition on ideology — they just never got along on anything," Slotnick said "They came together on this because we worked, reworked and reworked it again."
For Granite County residents, the appeals and comment process for the floodplain starts on June 20, and lasts for 90 days. A new Missoula map should be available in the coming months.
As for Missoula County's specific floodplain regulations, Hughes said anyone can request a zoning variance, or an exception to the rules.
To get more information on FEMA's floodplain plans, visit the state's website at https://dnrc.mt.gov/Water-Resources/Floodplains/Floodplain-Mapping-Updates/Missoula-Granite-Floodplain-Maps-Updates.
Griffen Smith is the local government reporter for the Missoulian.
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